{"id":9568,"date":"2014-12-18T10:37:27","date_gmt":"2014-12-18T15:37:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=9568"},"modified":"2024-07-02T14:46:03","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T14:46:03","slug":"okulaja","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=9568","title":{"rendered":"Former Tar Heel basketball MVP, entrepreneur and cancer survivor lives up to his \u2018Warrior\u2019 nickname"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Today<\/a>
Today former Tar Heel basketball player Ademola Okulaja ’99 runs entertainment and sports consulting companies in Berlin.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Former Tar Heel basketball player Ademola Okulaja developed the nickname \u201cThe Warrior\u201d because of his tough spirit, his determination to go after the ball and his willingness to fight for a win until the last second of the game.<\/p>\n

Okulaja was named MVP of the Carolina team during his senior year, graduating in 1999 with a degree in international studies from the College of Arts and Sciences. He went on to a successful professional career in the Euroleague, becoming a double-digit scorer in four countries \u2014 Spain, Germany, Italy and Russia. He won a medal with the German national team at the 2002 World Championships.<\/p>\n

But his nickname took on a larger meaning in 2008, when doctors discovered a cancerous tumor in his spine. It was the same year the German team qualified for the Olympics. It also effectively ended his professional career.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was not a nice time, but I think my basketball mindset helped me in a lot of ways, by teaching me to not put my head in the sand and say, \u2018Why me?\u2019\u201d Okulaja said over breakfast at Franklin Street\u2019s Ye Olde Waffle Shoppe during a fall 2014 visit to Chapel Hill. \u201cI always like to say, \u2018I don\u2019t have a problem. I have a challenge.\u2019 So this was a new challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Okulaja credits his wife, who was pregnant with their second child, for helping him to get through the difficult period. As if that challenge wasn\u2019t enough, Okulaja decided to get a master\u2019s degree in sports marketing through the Euroleague \u2014 while he was fighting cancer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was instilled in me via my mom to keep working, to never stop,\u201d said Okulaja, whose cancer is now in remission. \u201cI like to study, I like to work, and I like new challenges. It kept my mind busy. I got to see behind the scenes of the biggest league in Europe and to get an education.\u201d<\/p>\n

From Berlin to Chapel Hill and back again<\/strong><\/p>\n

Okulaja was born in Nigeria, but his family moved to West Berlin when he was 3. His mother encouraged him to try everything \u2014 handball, swimming, rugby, music. He fell in love with basketball late, picking up the sport at age 14. He continued to hone his basketball skills at John F. Kennedy High School, an American high school in Berlin.<\/p>\n

\"Ademola<\/a>
Ademola Okulaja was named MVP of the Carolina team during his senior year. (Photo by Scott Sharpe)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Henrik Rodl of Germany, who was on the 1993 Carolina championship team, encouraged coaches Bill Guthridge and Dean Smith to go to Berlin to see Okulaja play. After Okulaja traveled to Chapel Hill for his recruiting visit, he said, \u201cIt was a done deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even though his decision to attend college in the United States took him far away from home, Okulaja wasn\u2019t alone on his journey. His brother, Adekola, was also admitted to UNC-Chapel Hill a year earlier but delayed his entry into UNC by one year, so the brothers entered college together. Adekola graduated in three years in 1998 with a degree in business administration, then later went back to UNC\u2019s Kenan-Flagler Business School to earn an MBA.<\/p>\n

Okulaja recalled that a Russian history course \u201cfrom 1864 to the present\u201d was one of his favorite classes at UNC. He said his international studies major \u201chelped me to think the way I do now and to prepare me for what I am doing today in my career.\u201d He still keeps in touch with fellow senior starters Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison, who went on to have successful NBA careers.<\/p>\n

He has played basketball all over the world, but today Okulaja runs his own entertainment (StreetLife International<\/a>) and sports consulting (Pro4Pros<\/a>) companies from an office in Berlin. Through Pro4Pros, he represents Dennis Schroder, point guard for the Atlanta Hawks, whom Okulaja said is \u201cthe first German in 15 years to make it to the NBA.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whenever he gets the chance, Okulaja watches Carolina basketball on TV. It\u2019s not as easy to do in Berlin, but he\u2019s able to get his Tar Heel fix when he visits his brother, who lives in Chicago.<\/p>\n

And every few years Okulaja makes his way back to the UNC campus, stopping by to see Coach Smith when he can and sitting in on a practice at the Dean Smith Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can travel all over the world, but you always come back home,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s the same here, when I come to Chapel Hill. I had a great experience, and I wouldn\u2019t change it for the world. When I land here, I don\u2019t need a GPS.\u201d<\/p>\n

By Kim Weaver Spurr \u201988<\/em><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former Tar Heel basketball player Ademola Okulaja was called \u201cThe Warrior\u201d because of his tough spirit. But his nickname took on a larger meaning in 2008, when doctors discovered a cancerous tumor in his 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